I would love to have my child’s birthday party in my home. However, the house is very small and we have pets. Plus, the thought of planning, organizing and cleaning up equals too much stress. After vising Kid’s Choice Sports Center during open bounce, my daughter selected it as the venue for her 8th birthday party.
Due to the number of parties on the weekends, you are only allowed to arrive 10 minutes prior to the party room. Upon arrival, guests are directed to the party room. Depending on availability and number of guests, there is one small party room upstairs and several larger rooms downstairs. I suggest taking a tour to see which room is most suitable. We ended up in the larger room downstairs, which was great for the 13 children and adults that came. Note that there is no elevator leading to the bounce area, party rooms and restrooms. For me, this meant carefully walking down a flight of stairs with a fragile Frozen castle cake.
Upon our arrival, the two party planners had already decorated the room, even though I told them a week prior that we were bringing our own décor. No biggie. I let them keep the party banners because it covered up the walls. There is a food/cake table, a designated gift table, and an area with a t-shirt where guests can sign it for the birthday child. In addition to the table and chairs for the children, the perimeter was lined with plenty of chairs for adults. A standard waiver is required by all guests and this includes any adults that join in the bounce fun. Before the party host leads everyone to the bounce room, everyone is given a wrist band.
Party Package Options
Silver Bounce Party
There are two package plans to consider depending on your budget and number of invitees. The Silver Bounce Party runs $300 for 12 kids. Additional children are $20 each with a max number of 20 allowed. The 1 hr. 40 minute celebration includes 30 minutes of bounce time. At first I was skeptical because this didn’t seem like enough time compared to most facilities. However, after the party is over, children are welcome to bounce their feet off until closing time.
There are two party helpers who will decorate the room with gender neutral party supplies, entertain the children with balloon animal creations and dancing in the party room, gift logging and assistance with bringing items to your car afterwards and clean up. The birthday child receives a t-shirt which is autographed by his/her friends. Food includes two large pizzas, choice of two beverages, and a dozen vanilla or chocolate cupcakes. I chose to order more pizzas for the adults. Other add-ons include additional food and goody bags, face painting or a piñata.
Gold Bounce Party
The Gold Bounce Party costs $395 for 12 kids with each additional child at $22 per person. The package includes the same as the silver bounce party, but also includes a theme, goody bags and face painting.
I like that the inflatable area isn’t huge compared to other bounce houses I have been to. Of the five inflatables, there is a giant slide, the Juggernaut and giant soccer ball. There are an additional two inflatables for toddlers. I loved that Kid’s Choice Sports Center had staff present at each of the big inflatables. It gave peace of mind for the adults and also helped with crowd control. One guest became frightened at the top of the Juggernaut. Without hesitation, the employee climbed through the obstacle course and slid down the slide with the child in his lap.
Things to Consider
My only complaint was that I wish that coins were included as part of the package. I had some very unhappy party goers when they wanted to play The Claw (the ones that grabs a stuffed animal). There are also three video games including my all-time favorite, Pac Man, a foosball table, a toddler chicken ride, temporary tattoo/sticker machine and Shiatsu massage chairs for adults. Enough money was spent that I didn’t feel like this was necessary. In fact, it kind of took away from the bounce experience.
Even with two party hosts, myself and another parent had to help serve food to the kids. So it wasn’t completely 100% hosted, but not a huge deal. I give them props for having an IPad with age appropriate music including some Frozen tracks.
The building is a converted gym so it’s no surprise that the bathrooms are dated. There is also no changing area. There are couches for adults and cubbies for shoes. Bottled water is allowed in the bounce house and there is a water fountain.
Parking is limited and if you want to avoid the crowds, plan a party for early in the morning. Party packages can easily be made online. Don’t forget to wear socks to bounce.
Conclusion
If you’re still undecided whether to have your child’s party here, the open bounce play time is a good way to feel it out and reasonably priced compared to most places. I was pleased with everything and my daughter said it was her best birthday ever. Half of the party guests stayed over an hour afterwards to continue to bounce. One child began sobbing when his parents said it was time to leave. I think that’s a sign of a successful birthday party!
